Suddenly, everyone's making computers you strap to your face. Here's a rundown of all the big players.

A bunch of companies seem to believe that computers you wear on
your face are the next big thing.

This week, hardware maker HTC and PC game technology company
Valve demonstrated theirs, called Vive, and it was met with
wild rapturous applause from tech writers.

But how is it any different than Facebook's Oculus? And what
about those Microsoft goggles that their CEO is calling "the
new desktop?" And whatever happened to Google Glass?

We thought it might be helpful to get an overview of all the
different virtual reality and augmented reality headsets that
companies are building and showing off.

Here's what you need to know.

Vive VR

Business Insider

Who's behind it? The hardware is made by
HTC, best known for its phones, but the underlying technology is
made by Valve, which makes very popular platforms for video
games.

What does it do? It's a virtual reality
(VR) headset. When you wear it, you seem to be immersed in a
computer-generated world. It's like living inside a really
realistic video game.

What's cool about it? It's incredibly
realistic. But the best part: It's got a couple of controllers
you hold in your hands that actually let your hands show up in
the virtual world, letting you wave at passing objects or shoot a
gun or whatever. Business
Insider's Steve Kovach called it "the most mind-blowing
virtual reality experience ever."

What's bad about it? So far, the consensus
is it's the best VR product out there. But it's still got all the
inherent problems with VR: It's great fun for the person inside
the headset, but there's not much room for interaction with
people in the real world. You have to connect it to some kind of
computer. And you look silly wearing it.

When can you buy it and how much will it
cost? A developer version will be available later
this spring, and normal people will be able to buy it in stores
by the end of the year, the company says. No word on price.

Oculus Rift

Nicholas Carlson

Who's behind it? Oculus was an independent
company working on VR technology until Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg
developed a strong interest in the company and technology.
Facebook bought it for $2 billion about a year ago.

What does it do? Virtual reality, which means it
puts you into a 360-degree computer-generated world. The Rift is
a developer headset that Oculus makes itself, but Oculus also
provides technology to other hardware makers like Samsung.

What's cool about it? It was the first VR
headset that showed off how amazingly realistic this technology
could be. Tech bigwigs have been raving about it since
2013. Business Insider's Nicholas Carlson tried it for
the first time last December, and immediately tweeted
"It's
going to change everything."

What's bad about it? Some early versions
caused people to get nauseated or disoriented, although this
seems to have gotten a lot better with the most recent "Crescent
Bay" prototype. It also doesn't have any way to show your
hands when you're in the virtual world, which can be
disorienting.

When can you buy it and how much will it
cost? The latest development kit, which is a
version for developers to build apps with, is available for $350.
It's expected to go on sale later this year and cost a few
hundred bucks.

Gear VR

Who's behind it? Samsung makes the
hardware, but the VR experience is powered by
Oculus.

What does it do? It's a full virtual
reality headset, but it uses a Samsung smartphone instead of a
computer to power the display.

What's cool about it? It's the only one of
these products that you can actually buy today. You put the
smartphone right in the headset, so you don't need to be tethered
to some kind of computer with wires as you do with most of these
other products. It's got pretty impressive resolution.

What's bad about it? It doesn't have full
positional tracking like the Oculus Rift. What that means is,
while it can tell which direction you're looking in, it can't
tell if you lean forward or poke your head around an object. That
makes it feel less realistic than the full Oculus or other VR
headsets.

HoloLens

AP

Who's behind it? Microsoft. The company has
been working on it in a secret lab right below the visitor's
center on its campus in Redmond, Washington, since 2010. They
finally showed a prototype in January.

What does it do? It's not VR, but a
slightly different thing called "augmented reality." That means
the goggles are translucent. Some apps totally immerse you in a
computer generated world, just like VR. But in a lot of apps,
most of what you see is the real world, with computer-generated
images superimposed on top of it. So it's more of a blend of
reality and fantasy.

What's cool about it? Microsoft has built
some really cool work-type apps for it. For instance, it built an
app with NASA that will let scientists walk around inside a
360-degree version of the Martian surface, constructed of
pictures from the Mars Rover. Then, scientists can mark specific
spots for further study, which calls the computer program to look
up data the Rover collected on just those spots. Plus, Microsoft
is promising that it will be part of the broader Windows 10
platform, so regular Windows developers will eventually be able
to build apps for it.

What's bad about it? The version Microsoft
showed in January was just a prototype, very unfinished and
clunky -- the guts of the computer sat in a heavy unit that hangs
around your neck. Microsoft has a lot of work ahead to get this
thing done.

When can you buy it and how much will it
cost? The party line is that this will be out "in
the Windows 10 time frame." Windows 10 is expected to ship this
year, but we'd be stunned if Hololens ships at the same time.
Maybe 2016. We have no idea what it'll cost.

Magic Leap

Your browser does not support the video tag.
Magic LeapA hint at Magic Leap's technology from the company's website

Who's behind it? Magic Leap is a startup
run by a colorful character named Rony
Abovitz. It just got an investment of $542 million led by
Google and featuring other investors like Marc Andreessen and
Qualcomm.

What does it do? It's an augmented reality
product, apparently similar to HoloLens. The company hasn't shown
it widely yet, though, so we're not sure.

What's cool about it? Magic Leap says it's
developed new technology that projects images directly into each
eyeball. This is supposed to eliminate the nausea that some
people feel with VR headsets.

What's bad about it? The company is so
secretive, we don't know what the actual product will look like.
The web site is full of demonstrations of what users might see,
like the little virtual elephant in the picture above.

When can you buy it and how much will it
cost? Abovitz told the MIT Technology Review in
February that it's "not far away." It will cost in the same price
range as other consumer electronics devices.

Project Morpheus

What does it do? It's a full virtual
reality headset with an emphasis on games. Sony has been in the
console game business for almost 20 years, and many of the best
games are available for Sony consoles, so this could become the
gamer's VR headset of choice.

What's cool about it? It will work with the
PlayStation 4 and developers will presumably be making new PS4
games for it. Some reviewers say the current prototype headset
feels more finished than the Oculus Rift.

What's bad about it? Sony seems to be
moving very slowly, and it won't come out until next year.

When can you buy it and how much will it cost?
Sony is targeting "the first half of 2016," but no word on price.

Glass

Jim Edwards

Who makes it? Google was selling a
prototype version for developers until earlier this year, but the
company always said it was an experiment. Google shut the project
down earlier this year.

What did it do? It was a form of augmented
reality, where small images appeared to be superimposed on the
world around.

What was cool about it? It was the least
obtrusive device on this list - instead of a bulky headset or
pair of goggles, it was just a pair of glasses frames with a tiny
little display. The display beamed imaged onto the wearer's
eyeballs

What was bad about it? It really wasn't
ready for prime time, and it cost $1,500 to get one. The biggest
controversy, though, was you could use it to record videos and
there was no red light or other indicator that you were
recording. Some people got really upset and even went so far as
to attack Glass wearers, and ban them from certain public places
like bars and movie theaters. Plus, it was meant to be worn out
in the world — unlike most of these other devices, which are for
use in the home or maybe at work — but it wasn't very
stylish.

When can you buy it and how much will it
cost? You can't buy one now. But Google apparently
hasn't given up: It's reportedly working on a
virtual reality version of Android that it might license to
anybody who wants to make a VR headset.